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From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : The first session of the fourth quarter saw plenty of selling pressure. The effort culminated in a sharp loss for stocks, which settled at new 52-week lows.

Stocks just booked their worst quarter in almost three years, but sellers aren't yet ready to let up. As such, action today opened in negative territory. Participants continued to take their cues from Europe, where Greece admitted that it does not expect to hit a deficit target and the eurozone's PMI Manufacturing Index for September slipped. Between Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, only the UK experienced an increase in its monthly Manufacturing PMI.

The major averages managed to lure some buyers into the fold with help from a dose of upbeat data. Specifically, the ISM Manufacturing Index for September improved to 51.6 from 50.6 when it was widely expected to slip to 50.5. Construction spending swung from a 1.3% decline in July to a 1.4% increase in August, contrasting with the consensus call for a 0.5% decline.

Still, stocks struggled to sustain their midmorning move into positive territory. Once stocks faltered, the broad market was never able to return to higher ground. The struggle invited additional selling pressure, which prompted a steady descent. Bleeding was broad, but financials suffered the worst loss of any major sector by falling 4.5%.

Airlines experienced a dramatic drop, led lower by AMR (AMR 1.98, -0.98), which was caught up in rumors about bankruptcy. The company stated, though, that it is not seeking a prepackaged bankruptcy.

Given such aggressive selling pressure this session, the S&P 500 broke below the 1100 line and settled there for the first time in little more than a year. Both the Dow and Nasdaq also booked 52-week closing lows, but neither breached their one-year intraday lows.

Amid such weakness, many participants sought safety. In turn, the dollar advanced 1.1% against a basket of major foreign currencies and the benchmark 10-year Note climbed about a point and a half so that its yield tumbled to 1.75%. Gold prices advanced more than 2% to almost $1758 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Consumer Staples -1.5%, Telecom -1.8%, Utilities -2.3%, Tech -2.3%, Materials -2.6%, Consumer Discretionary -2.9%, Industrials -3.0%, Health Care -3.2%, Energy -3.3%, Financials -4.5%DJ30 -258.08 NASDAQ -79.57 NQ100 -2.5% R2K -5.4% SP400 -4.6% SP500 -32.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 209/1.71 bln/2352 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 294/1.39 bln/2789

4:07PM Hewlett-Packard announced that it has acquired control of Autonomy Corporation plc (AUTNF.PK) (HPQ) 22.18 -0.27 : Holders of ~213 mln Autonomy shares have accepted HP's previously announced offer to purchase the entire share capital of Autonomy at a price of 25.50 per share in cash, representing ~87.34% of the current issued share capital of Autonomy. As such, all conditions relating to the offer have now been satisfied, allowing HP to acquire control of Autonomy.

12:48PM Adobe Systems announces agreement to acquire Nitobi, Creator of PhoneGap; financial terms not disclosed (ADBE) 23.69 -0.48 : Co announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Nitobi Software, the creator of PhoneGap and PhoneGap Build. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of October 2011.

9:03AM Cypress Semi: GSI's (GSIT) alleged infringement ofco's SRAM patents by GSI have ended without a resolution (CY) 14.97 : Co said that negotiations with GSI Technology regarding the alleged infringement of Cypress's SRAM patents by GSI have ended without a resolution. In June, co filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission alleging infringement by GSI of four of its SRAM patents. The complaint seeks an exclusion order from the ITC that would prevent the importation of all infringing GSI SRAMs. The ITC requires disputing companies to meet three times before the trial. Cypress's comments came in the wake of the first of these meetings.

O2Micro International (OIIM) was issued 15 claims under United States patent number 7,999,554 for its Battery Voltage Translator circuitry.

8:02AM Vitesse Semi lowers Q4 rev guidance below consensus; lowers product margin, op-ex guidance (VTSS) 2.95 : Co lowers Q4 rev guidance to $29-30.5 mln from $35-38 mln vs. the $35.8 mln consensus; product margins to 57-59% from 59-61%. "We continue to see softening of global demand as a number of customers manage through existing inventories and curtail purchases due to economic conditions that are impacting performance broadly across our sector, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. A delay in an intellectual property contract also contributed to our reduced revenue expectation. In the quarter, we took actions to further reduce our operating expenses. These measures will reduce 2012 operating expenses by approximately $10 million as compared to 2011."

8:01AM Chipmos Technology announces $10 million share repurchase program (IMOS) 5.17 : Co also announced that ThaiLin Semiconductor, a 42.9%-owned subsidiary of ChipMOS's 84.2% owned subsidiary, ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. has completed the purchase of demand notes issued by Modern Mind Technology Limited from ChipMOS. ChipMOS received payment of US$39.95 million from ThaiLin on October 3, 2011.

Rudolph Technologies (RTEC) announced that it has shipped its Wafer Scanner 3880 3D Inspection System, multiple NSX Macro Defect Inspection Systems and its Discover Yield Management Software Suite to a semiconductor manufacturer for use in developing through silicon via based processes for advanced 3D IC integration.

7:09AM Tessera Tech: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit brought by Powertech Technology against Tessera (TSRA) 11.94 : Co announces that on Sept. 30, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit brought by Powertech Technology against Tessera. In March 2010, PTI filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking a declaration of noninfringement and invalidity regarding a single Tessera, Inc. patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,663,106. The District Court dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds, namely, a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On appeal, the Court of Appeals disagreed, and remanded the matter back to the District Court for further proceedings. The appellate court's decision is not a ruling on the merits of PTI's claims regarding U.S. Patent No. 5,663,106. "We are confident in the merits of our case, and are prepared to move forward following this ruling by the Court of Appeals. Tessera has the option to petition the panel and/or the full Court of Appeals for rehearing within 45 days, and to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari within 90 days after entry of the judgment or any requests for rehearing are denied, whichever is later."

Nova Measuring Instruments (NVMI) announced that its Nova T500 stand-alone optical CD metrology system was selected by a leading foundry in Asia for process control of advanced etch applications. Following a thorough evaluation process, multiple orders were placed with Nova to support 28nm process transfer to manufacturing and volume production.

Research In Motion (RIMM) and Tech Data (TECD) announced a new agreement that enables Tech Data to distribute BlackBerry devices, software and technical support services to its channel of over 60,000 value-added resellers in the United States. The agreement also allows Tech Data to support the end-to-end sale of BlackBerry solutions for small to mid-sized businesses through Tech Data's new TDMobility offering operated by ActivateIT, a Tech Data and Brightstar Corp. joint venture company.

Vitesse Semi (VTSS $2.50 -0.44) lowered fourth quarter revenue guidance to $29-30.5 million from $35-38 million versus the $35.8 million Capital IQ consensus, Product margins went to 57-59% from 59-61%. "We continue to see softening of global demand as a number of customers manage through existing inventories and curtail purchases due to economic conditions that are impacting performance broadly across our sector, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. A delay in an intellectual property contract also contributed to our reduced revenue expectation. In the quarter, we took actions to further reduce our operating expenses. These measures will reduce 2012 operating expenses by approximately $10 million as compared to 2011."

Audiocodes (AUDC $2.52 -0.60) issued downside guidance for the third quarter with revenues of $36-37 million versus the $42.18 million Capital IQ Consensus. The company also lowered guidance for fiscal year 2011 with revenues to $155-162 million from $167-174 million versus the $168.80 million consensus. As a result, the company also expects the net income per share for 2011 to be lower than previously forecasted while remaining profitable in the third quarter 2011 on a Non-GAAP basis. The revised estimates for the third quarter and full year 2011 reflect a slow-down in business related to lower than anticipated technology, government and residential business line sales and softer macro-economic conditions in North America and Western Europe.

Advanced Energy (AEIS $7.73 -0.89) was downgraded to Hold from Buy. The firm notes downgrade is based on deterioration of both renewable and thin-film businesses. Their checks suggest increased price competition in the central inverters space and they believe weaker module prices have resulted in delayed installation. Coupled with weakening of the thin film business, they believe consensus estimates are too aggressive and recommend investors be more defensive on the name.